Philippine basketball’s Sixth Man played its role to the hilt once again as Gilas Pilipinas turned back a fighting Saudi Arabia squad on Monday at the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier.
More than just the boos and jeers, the 15,298-strong hometown crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena found a more effective way to disrupt the offense of the Saudis, who led for the most part of the first half.
One small group at the upper box started doing the countdown of the Saudi shot-clock, but they did it faster, ahead of what was really left of the remaining time to shoot the ball.
“Five, four, three, two, one…,” they barked in unison as the Saudi shot-clock was still alive.
“Clang!” a Saudi attempt bounces off the ring, with the crowd erupting in laughter and continuing to do it repeatedly in the game–with big dividends.
So every time a Saudi player was in possession of the ball, the crowd hollers the fake countdown, “three, two, one!”
They were all missed shots.
Why did they fall for the countdown ploy of the hometown fans?
Saudi Arabia head coach Mohammed Mounir Youssef said that his players are not used to playing before a large crowd, more so against a loud throng of fans, who rattled them no end in the game that was cut wide open in the third quarter.
“This is a good experience for us because in the Saudi Arabia league, there’s not a lot of fans, so (that what happens) when they come here to play against a team with full-house fans. It’s a good experience for them (Saudi players) for the future,” said the visiting team coach.
“For the fans of the Philippines, it’s natural to do these, they are supportive of their team, these happen and there’s no problem for us,” added the Saudi coach.
The shot-clock confusion created problems for the Saudi squad, which made only 16 of its 68 field goals.
NBA Sixth Man awardee Jordan Clarkson played the lead role for Gilas, rallying them from the bench and tallying 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds as the Philippines improved its Asian Qualifiers record to an even 3-3.
Youssef could only admire the Philippines’ arsenal with a world-class player in the lead role.
“Jordan clearly made a great addition to the team, he’s one of the best players in the world, very high quality. And you have great quality (Gilas) players and great IQ. For us, it’s our first time to qualify to the finals of the World Cup, hopefully, the future is bright for us.”